The Komuravelli Mallanna Jatara is the long festive season of Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy – Mallanna – at Komuravelli in Siddipet district. After his kalyanam with Golla Kethamma and Medalamma in December, devotees throng the hill every Sunday from Sankranti to Ugadi, while Oggu pujaris draw the sacred patnam and sing the Lord's story.
Festival Dates
Dates for the next celebration will be updated soon.
Introduction
Komuravelli (Komrelly), in Siddipet district of Telangana, is the abode of Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy – lovingly called Mallanna – a form of Lord Shiva, worshipped together with his consorts Golla Kethamma and Medalamma. The Mallanna Jatara is the temple's long festive season: it opens after the Lord's kalyanam in December and runs from Sankranti to Ugadi, with Sundays drawing the biggest crowds. It is one of the most important folk-devotional festivals of Telangana.
Significance and Legend
Mallanna is revered as a protector of families, herds and harvests, and his story – with his marriages to Kethamma of the Golla (shepherd) community and Medalamma – is kept alive by the Oggu Katha storytellers, who sing it to the beat of the oggu drum without any written script. Devotees come to fulfil vows made for health, children, cattle and crops, and many families visit year after year as their ancestors did.
How it is Celebrated
- Kalyanam: the season begins with the divine wedding of Mallanna with Kethamma and Medalamma, celebrated in December.
- Sundays from Sankranti: the jatara opens on the Sunday after Makara Sankranti, and on every Sunday (and on other set days) until Ugadi, devotees from across Telangana come for darshan and to fulfil their vows.
- Patnam: the Oggu pujaris draw a sacred coloured rangoli called the patnam before the Lord, inside the temple and in its verandahs, as an offering on behalf of the devotees.
- Pedda Patnam: on Maha Shivaratri, the great Pedda Patnam is drawn and celebrated.
- Agnigundalu: on the Sunday before Ugadi, the jatara comes to its climax with the walking over the sacred fire-pits.
Rituals and Puja
- Darshan of Mallanna, Kethamma and Medalamma, with turmeric (pasupu), kumkum and flowers.
- Patnam offerings drawn by the Oggu pujaris for the devotees' families.
- Listening to the Oggu Katha of the Lord.
Foods and Offerings
- Turmeric, kumkum, coconuts and flowers for the Lord.
- Offerings made by each family according to its vows and custom.
Temples Known for this Festival
- Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple, Komuravelli, Siddipet district – Mallanna's hill shrine, the centre of the jatara.
The Kalyanam and jatara dates are announced by the temple each year and will be added here once announced. The jatara runs from Sankranti to Ugadi, with the Pedda Patnam on Maha Shivaratri.